In 2011, Germany made headlines when a small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria produced 321% more energy than it needed. Now, Germany is showing that it is still leading theÂ world in renewable energy use with news that renewable energy sources wereÂ responsible for 74% of the countryâ€™s ENTIRE DEMAND during the middle of a

In 2011, Germany made headlines when a small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria produced 321% more energy than it needed.

Now, Germany is showing that it is still leading theÂ world in renewable energy use with news that renewable energy sources wereÂ responsible for 74% of the countryâ€™s ENTIRE DEMAND during the middle of a day.

According to think tank Agora Energiewende, Germanyâ€™sÂ renewable usage set a new record on Sunday when wind, solar, biomass, and hydroÂ energy supplied a bulk of the countryâ€™s energy. Information supplied by theÂ group shows that the combined contribution of renewables reached 43.54Â gigawatts between noon and 1 p.m. That equates to almost three quarters of theÂ countryâ€™s demand.

Agora Energiewende has noted, however, that theÂ inability of some baseload generators to switch themselves off meant that aÂ record level of more than 10 gigawatts of surplus capacity at its peak wasÂ exported to neighboring markets.

Germany has always been among Europeâ€™s leaders when itÂ comes to solar energy, and this weekend was no exception with its output atÂ 15.2 gigawatts at its peak. That said, the output is just half its rated peakÂ capacityâ€”which is more than 33 gigawattsâ€”but then most of the northern part ofÂ the country was covered in cloud.

Wind power provided 21 gigawatts at the countryâ€™s peak,Â while fossil fuels such as coal and gas made up the rest of the countryâ€™sÂ demandâ€”26 gigawatts (although that is merely half of their normal production!)

Hereâ€™s hoping that the rest of Europe will learn fromÂ Germanyâ€™s example and use renewables on less energy-demanding days of the week!